OSCR Help Forums

**Richard Reichenbacher** · 03-12-2008, 07:23 PM

Today I had a problem with someone's Vista user account not loading. Tomkus wanted me to post up the fix because he spent a while working on it too.

So the case was that the client wasn't going through the proper shut down sequence, instead just holding down the power button to shut the computer off. Now when Windows is installing updates it moves the user profile in the registry into a backup then reinstates it after it finishes installing. So what probably happened during an updates install is that the client shut down mid updates and the account backup hadn't been reinstated.

The fix for this is to boot with the emergency cd and open up the registry editor. DO NOT LOAD REMOTE PROFILES. When the registry editor loads, right click HKEY_USERS, load hive, navigate to C:\Users\USERNAME\ntuser.dat, give the hive a name whatever you want. Expand HKEY_USERS and expand the name you gave the hive. If you can navigate through the keys the user account is not corrupt and should be saveable.

Next step is to actually fix the registry. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. There will be a couple of shorter account IDs and 1 or 2 longer ones. Click on the two longer ones to see which has more data in it. The one with less data is the temporary entry created during the update install, the one with more data is the backup created pre-install and it should have .bak or .bad on the end. i.e.:

Code:

S-1-5-21-2424988539-1399250678-3314260969-1000        <--- temp
S-1-5-21-2424988539-1399250678-3314260969-1000.bak  <--- backup

Add .bad to the temp and remove the .bak from the backup. Reboot the computer and it should run fine. If it doesn't you'll have to create a new user account explained in the next step.

So if the user profile is actually corrupt and the ntuser.dat doesn't load, you'll need to start the computer in safe mode and use the command line to activate the super duper top secret defended by tanks and flak guns administrator account. It is the equivalent to the Unix root account.

Open a command line, type:

Code:

Net user administrator /active:yes

This will enable the account and allow you to login. Reboot into normal more. There is no password so just click on it when you get to the login screen. You can then create a new user account and migrate previous files and settings from the old account. After you're done being the super admin, disable the account with:

Code:

Net user administrator /active:no

01-02-2009, 01:13 AM

Try This: <a href="http://thetopregistrycleaners.com/20/fix-corrupt-registry/">fix corrupt registry</a>

01-02-2009, 01:14 AM

<a href="http://thetopregistrycleaners.com/20/fix-corrupt-registry/">fix windows registry</a>

03-12-2008, 07:23 PM	#1
Richard Reichenbacher OSCR Consultant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 414	Repair Vista user profile registry entry Today I had a problem with someone's Vista user account not loading. Tomkus wanted me to post up the fix because he spent a while working on it too. So the case was that the client wasn't going through the proper shut down sequence, instead just holding down the power button to shut the computer off. Now when Windows is installing updates it moves the user profile in the registry into a backup then reinstates it after it finishes installing. So what probably happened during an updates install is that the client shut down mid updates and the account backup hadn't been reinstated. The fix for this is to boot with the emergency cd and open up the registry editor. DO NOT LOAD REMOTE PROFILES. When the registry editor loads, right click HKEY_USERS, load hive, navigate to C:\Users\USERNAME\ntuser.dat, give the hive a name whatever you want. Expand HKEY_USERS and expand the name you gave the hive. If you can navigate through the keys the user account is not corrupt and should be saveable. Next step is to actually fix the registry. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. There will be a couple of shorter account IDs and 1 or 2 longer ones. Click on the two longer ones to see which has more data in it. The one with less data is the temporary entry created during the update install, the one with more data is the backup created pre-install and it should have .bak or .bad on the end. i.e.: Code: S-1-5-21-2424988539-1399250678-3314260969-1000 <--- temp S-1-5-21-2424988539-1399250678-3314260969-1000.bak <--- backup Add .bad to the temp and remove the .bak from the backup. Reboot the computer and it should run fine. If it doesn't you'll have to create a new user account explained in the next step. So if the user profile is actually corrupt and the ntuser.dat doesn't load, you'll need to start the computer in safe mode and use the command line to activate the super duper top secret defended by tanks and flak guns administrator account. It is the equivalent to the Unix root account. Open a command line, type: Code: Net user administrator /active:yes This will enable the account and allow you to login. Reboot into normal more. There is no password so just click on it when you get to the login screen. You can then create a new user account and migrate previous files and settings from the old account. After you're done being the super admin, disable the account with: Code: Net user administrator /active:no

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-02-2009, 01:13 AM	#2
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Try This: <a href="http://thetopregistrycleaners.com/20/fix-corrupt-registry/">fix corrupt registry</a>

01-02-2009, 01:14 AM	#3
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	<a href="http://thetopregistrycleaners.com/20/fix-corrupt-registry/">fix windows registry</a>